West Notes: Bumgarner, Jefferies, Athletics, Mariners
Madison Bumgarner‘s injury could mark the end of an era for the Giants, Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News writes. The short-term implications of the injury are clear — Bumgarner’s dirt bike crash will make it that much harder for the Giants to climb out of the 6-11 hole they’ve already dug. But Kawakami doesn’t suggest the injury even extinguishes the Giants’ playoff hopes. Rather, he thinks the rather silly cause of the injury upends Bumgarner’s nearly mythical status — Kawakami compares the old Bumgarner, the one who helped the Giants to three World Series wins and carried the team on his back in 2014, to Paul Bunyan. It also suggests that the Giants as a team no longer warrant the presumption that they’ll win just because they’ve done so in the past. Here’s more from the West divisions.
- Athletics prospect Daulton Jefferies will undergo Tommy John surgery, Scout.com’s Melissa Lockard writes. Jeffries was the 37th overall pick in last year’s draft out of UC-Berkeley despite missing part of the 2016 season due to a shoulder injury. The righty made five brief starts in rookie ball last year and had made two appearances with Class A+ Stockton this season. MLB.com currently rates him at the Athletics’ No. 8 prospect, praising his athleticism and delivery and noting he could eventually become a No. 4-type starter in the big leagues.
- Yesterday, the Athletics promoted 1B/OF Matt Olson and optioned righty Cesar Valdez to the minors, MLB.com’s Jane Lee tweeted. Olson gives the A’s an extra bench option, with Valdez heading to the minors after a spot start Thursday (a start that was, remarkably, his first big-league action since he was with Arizona in 2010). Once one of the Athletics’ top prospects, Olson’s stock has fallen somewhat as he’s risen through the system, but he still has an impressive 105 career minor-league home runs, and his abilities to play first and right field, and perhaps third base in a pinch, could help the A’s.
- Before last night’s game, the Mariners announced that they recalled righty Chase De Jong from Triple-A Tacoma and optioned righty Dan Altavilla to Tacoma. Altavilla had allowed three runs the previous night against the A’s, and De Jong had fared well in two Triple-A starts. The Mariners acquired De Jong from the Dodgers near the beginning of Spring Training, and he figured to contribute to their starting depth after pitching 147 innings with a 2.82 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in a strong 2016 season in the high minors of the Dodgers’ system.
Giants Place Madison Bumgarner On 10-Day DL After Dirt Bike Accident
8:20pm: There’s internal concern that a two-month estimated absence may be on the low side, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets.
6:03pm: From the club’s perspective, there’s no real timetable at present, manager Bruce Bochy tells reporters including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link).
4:00pm: The initial expectation is that Bumgarner will be sidelined for six to eight weeks, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). It’s not clear, though, whether that figure includes the time that the lefty will presumably require to ramp up and move through a rehab assignment.
3:39pm: Giants ace Madison Bumgarner is headed to the 10-day DL after injuring himself in a dirt bike accident, the team announced. He is said to have suffered bruised ribs along with “a grade one or two left shoulder AC sprain.”
Fortunately, it seems there’s no reason to worry for Bumgarner’s long-term well-being. He has already been released from the hospital. But from an on-field perspective, the news certainly looks to be concerning.
To be sure, there’s little in the way of detail as to just how the injury will impact Bumgarner. For now, it seems he’ll rest before being reevaluated next week.
The injury is not a common one for a pitcher, but it does happen to quarterbacks with regularity. Treatment and timing will obviously depend upon the final assessment of the severity, though it seems that surgery isn’t likely to be needed for a grade one or two sprain.
Obviously, the fact that the injury occurred to Bumgarner’s throwing arm will be a significant factor. That’ll not only increase the risks of rushing back, but will presumably call for a lengthier timeline — including, perhaps, a rehab stint.
Bumgarner had been himself on the hill in the early going, continuing his outstanding track record of production. (To date, Bumgarner owns a 2.99 ERA with 8.9 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 over 1,242 2/3 career innings.) Now, he’s headed to the DL for the first time in his career.
What makes the southpaw special, though, isn’t just his effectiveness. It’s the fact that he has had a flawless record of durability. Bumgarner has made at least 31 starts and thrown at least 200 innings in each of his first six full seasons in the majors. Now, it seems those streaks are at risk.
The Giants have options on hand to fill in, with Ty Blach seemingly likely to step into the rotation and Chris Stratton coming up to provide another arm. But there’s no replacing Bumgarner, who is already a legendary figure in the organization due to his incredible postseason efforts.
Melvin Upton Undergoes Surgery For Torn Thumb Ligament
Giants outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. has undergone surgery to repair a torn ligament in his thumb, GM Bobby Evans tells reporters including Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News (via Twitter). He is expected to miss at least eight weeks of action.
Upton, 32, came to San Francisco on a minors deal after he failed to crack the Blue Jays’ Opening Day roster. He figured to be one of several players who could ultimately have played a role in the team’s still-unsettled mix in left field.
Instead, Upton is headed for a lengthy rehab. The veteran had enjoyed something of a renaissance after moving to San Diego from the Braves, where he failed to deliver on a big free-agent contract. But he struggled late last year with Toronto after a mid-season trade, slashing just .196/.261/.318 in 165 plate appearances down the stretch.
Heyman’s Latest: Slow Starters, Dodgers, Braun, O’s, Tigers
FanRag’s Jon Heyman tackles a number of slow-starting teams in the intro to his weekly notes columns, getting the opinions of rival scouts and executives on the slow starts from the Cardinals, Giants, Blue Jays and Rangers. Heyman spoke to Giants GM Bobby Evans on his club’s issues in left field, with Evans conceding, “We don’t have a true left fielder. We’re going to have to mix and match.” Heyman notes that veteran infielder Aaron Hill is expected to get some looks in left field. San Francisco elected to move on from Angel Pagan this offseason and entered the year with a platoon of Jarrett Parker and Chris Marrero in left field, but Parker will now miss significant time following a broken clavicle. And it appears to be too late to turn back to Pagan, who told El Vocero yesterday that he’s planning to sit out the 2017 season to spend time with his wife and children.
Here are some highlights from Heyman’s National League and American League roundups…
- There’s “no evidence of any real trade talk” between the Brewers and Dodgers involving Ryan Braun, per Heyman. He notes that the Brewers may feel a slight sense of urgency due to the fact that Braun will achieve 10-and-5 rights on May 24 (thus allowing him full veto power over any trade). The improved production out of Yasiel Puig could make Braun a less appealing target, as Puig himself has the ability to be a dynamic weapon against lefties if he can return to form. Even if Braun does ultimately reach 1o-and-5 status, Heyman notes that the Dodgers are said to be his preferred destination in a trade, so he could very well approve the deal after that point.
- Also of note to Dodgers fans, Los Angeles showed interest in right-hander Brad Ziegler this offseason and were willing to discuss something in the range of $12MM over two years. Ziegler, instead, signed with the Marlins for two years and a total of $16MM. To this point, he’s yielded just one run with a 6-to-1 K/BB ratio and a ridiculous 81 percent ground-ball rate through his first eight innings.
- Multiple teams inquired with the Brewers about right-hander Wily Peralta this spring, but Milwaukee clearly didn’t find an offer to its liking. “We’re very comfortable having him as part of our rotation,” GM David Stearns tells Heyman. The 27-year-old Peralta has a 2.65 ERA through his first three starts, though his strong work dates back further than Opening Day. While Peralta’s 2016 numbers look pedestrian at best, he posted a 2.92 ERA through 61 1/3 innings after being recalled from a Triple-A demotion early last August. In his past 13 MLB starts, Peralta has a 2.86 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 51.2 percent ground-ball rate. He’s controllable for two seasons beyond the 2017 campaign, and it’s easy to envision him emerging as a trade candidate this summer if he continues to perform anywhere near that level.
- J.J. Hardy‘s lengthy injury history will make the Orioles unlikely to pick up his $14MM club option at season’s end. However, Heyman adds that even if the O’s do move on from Hardy, they’re not likely to displace Manny Machado from third base given his excellence (and, presumably, his comfort level) at the hot corner. Rather, the team figures to shop for a shortstop next offseason. The 2017-18 free agent crop at shortstop figures to be headlined by Zack Cozart, with alternative options including Eduardo Nunez, Alcides Escobar and Danny Espinosa. Baltimore could, of course, turn to the trade market for some shortstop help as well. Ryan Mountcastle is the team’s top-regarded minor league shortstop, but the 20-year-old former first-rounder opened the season in Class-A Advanced and many scouting reports question his ability to remain at short in the long run.
- The Tigers are planning to be “extra cautious” with right fielder J.D. Martinez as he returns from a foot injury, Heyman writes. However, there’s little chance of the Tigers pursuing him as a free agent this offseason due to the fact that the team still intends to trim down its long-term payroll outlook. Re-signing Martinez, who ranked sixth on MLBTR’s Free Agent Power Rankings earlier today, could require another sizable commitment of five or more years if Martinez has a typical season at the plate.
Phillies Came Closest To Landing Jay Bruce Over The Winter
Though by all accounts he has done nothing but go about his business as a professional, outfielder Jay Bruce has had an eventful tenure with the Mets since arriving last summer via trade. While the club picked up his option last fall, it reportedly dangled him in trade talks once Yoenis Cespedes returned in free agency.
Among the teams that inquired about Bruce, it was the rebuilding Phillies who came closest to acquiring him over the recent offseason, Marc Carig of Newsday reports. It’s not known what got in the way of a deal, though perhaps New York wanted some kind of prospect return or Philadelphia wasn’t willing to take on his entire $13MM salary.
The pursuit of Bruce, who’ll be a free agent at year’s end, certainly fits within the Phillies’ recent operating philosophy of adding short-term veteran pieces to boost the club in the near term (and provide possible trade chips) without clogging up future balance sheets. The Phils ended up adding two such outfielders, Howie Kendrick and Michael Saunders. Presumably, the club wouldn’t have signed the latter, who was not added until mid-January, had it managed to acquire Bruce.
Other organizations that at least expressed interest, Carig notes, were the Giants and Orioles. But clearly neither of those clubs was willing to push the envelope to add Bruce, who struggled to a .219/.294/.391 slash line over his 187 plate appearances with the Mets in 2016. In the end, the Mets held onto the slugger.
As it turns out, the lack of sufficient interest may have worked to the Mets’ advantage. Though the presence of Bruce on the roster along with Curtis Granderson and Michael Conforto has continued to create something of a logjam, the 30-year-old Bruce is more than making up for that with a highly productive start to the year. Through 62 plate appearances, he’s hitting a robust .309/.387/.673 with six long balls.
It’ll be interesting to see how things play out over the course of the season. Bruce is a notoriously streaky hitter, though the Mets will be glad to ride things out for the time being. Conforto is clamoring for more playing time with a great start in limited action. And Granderson is scuffling quite a bit early, though of the three he’s the choice to line up in center field (where he could begin to cede time to Juan Lagares). Tough choices could be required if other roster needs arise, or if the team determines that Conforto needs to play more regularly, though it remains plausible to imagine all three players sticking with the Mets for the full season. And if Bruce is able to maintain anything like his current production, it’ll be interesting to see whether the organization considers a qualifying offer after the season.
NL West Notes: Bochy, Gardenhire, Dayton, Hill, Padres
MLBTR extends its best wishes to Giants skipper Bruce Bochy and Diamondbacks bench coach Ron Gardenhire, each of whom underwent surgery today, according to a pair of club releases. Bochy had a “minor ablation procedure this morning to alleviate some discomfort he was experiencing due to an atrial flutter,” the Giants said in a statement. Bochy is expected to rejoin the team on Friday, and in the interim, bench coach Ron Wotus will assume managerial duties. Gardenhire’s surgery was part of his ongoing treatment for prostate cancer, which he was diagnosed with during Spring Training. Both veterans are among the most respected and well-liked managers/coaches in the game, and we join those around the industry in wishing Bochy and Gardy full recoveries.
A few notes from around the NL West…
- The Dodgers announced that left-hander Grant Dayton has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to an intercostal strain. Right-hander Josh Fields has been recalled from Triple-A to take his spot on the active roster. The injury to Dayton, who has provided L.A. with 32 2/3 innings of 1.65 ERA ball dating back to his MLB debut last season, leaves Luis Avilan as the lone southpaw in manager Dave Roberts’ bullpen (as their depth chart at RosterResource.com shows). To this point, there’s no word on whether Dayton will be able to return in the minimum 10 days or if he’ll require a lengthier stay on the shelf.
- Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register writes that Rich Hill‘s lack of blisters during Spring Training and immediate blister flare-up early in the season has left the Dodgers’ training staff “baffled” about what could’ve caused the issue. Roberts said that “everything” is on the table when it comes to getting Hill back up to speed, and the manager elaborated a bit on the notion of a temporary bullpen role for the left-hander to get him through the current issue. While some will question the decision to bring Hill back so quickly only to see the issue pop back up, Roberts doesn’t think insufficient rest isn’t to blame. “Put it this way – he shut down all winter and we didn’t see this blister until his first start,” said Roberts. “You can argue that resting it isn’t the solution because he had as much rest as he could and there wasn’t a sign of this until he made his first start.”
- The Padres are looking for more production at shortstop but are hoping for one of Erick Aybar, Allen Cordoba or Luis Sardinas to step up for the time being, writes AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. There’s some optimism in the organization that prospect Luis Urias could emerge as a viable option, though he could be a ways off from the Majors. Urias opened the year at Double-A but is just 19 years of age. He did post a very strong .333/.404/.446 batting line as one of the youngest players in the Class-A Advanced California League last season, though, and even got a brief cup of coffee in Triple-A in 2016 (three games). In the meantime, manager Andy Green praised Aybar’s eye at the plate (he’s walked six times) and voiced confidence that hits will begin to fall in for the veteran. Aybar is hitting just .147/.293/.206, while Sardinas comes with less of a big league track record and Cordoba is swimming with sharks after jumping directly from Rookie Ball to the Majors as a Rule 5 pick.
Giants Designate Tim Federowicz For Assignment
The Giants reinstated Buster Posey from the 7-day disabled list on Tuesday and designated backup catcher Tim Federowicz for assignment to clear a spot on the active roster (Twitter link via Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area).
Federowicz, 29, appeared in two games for the Giants and picked up just three plate appearances while Posey was on the shelf. It seems likely that the Giants will try to pass Federowicz through waivers in the hope of keeping him in the organization as a depth option in the event of further injuries to either Posey or backup Nick Hundley. Federowicz has never hit that much in the Majors, but he’s a .304/.375/.511 hitter over the life of 304 Triple-A games and also slashed an impressive .323/.417/.625 in 21 games with the Giants this spring.
San Francisco selected Federowicz’s contract last week when Posey hit the disabled list due to concussion-like symptoms. The sequence of events may not sit especially well with Giants fans, as the quick roster shuffle cost the Giants longtime pitching prospect Clayton Blackburn, who was designated for assignment to clear a spot for Federowicz and traded to the Rangers. While Blackburn certainly isn’t a top-tier pitching prospect, and the Giants did acquire minor league infielder Frandy De La Rosa in that trade with the Rangers, Blackburn is nearly MLB-ready, meaning his loss thins out the team’s immediate pitching depth.
Jarrett Parker Suffers Broken Clavicle
SUNDAY: Parker will undergo surgery to repair his broken clavicle, but it won’t end his season, writes Chris Haft of MLB.com. Bochy estimates that Parker will need eight weeks to recover.
SATURDAY: Giants left fielder Jarrett Parker suffered a broken right clavicle during the team’s 5-0 loss to Colorado on Saturday, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). The injury occurred when Parker crashed into the left field wall on a fourth-inning catch, forcing him to leave the game. Unsurprisingly, Parker will “miss some time,” manager Bruce Bochy told reporters, including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area (video link). Bochy added that he’ll have more information on Parker’s status Sunday.
The 28-year-old Parker entered the spring with only 204 major league plate appearances under his belt, but a strong showing in camp helped him win a starting job. Parker then opened the regular season slashing just .143/.217/.238 prior to the injury, though he has posted those numbers over a microscopic sample size (23 PAs). Other Giants who have seen action in left this year, Aaron Hill, Chris Marrero and Gorkys Hernandez, haven’t fared any better. Parker and those three went into Saturday with a combined .119/.194/.226 line in 93 PAs.
Parker is now the second left fielder on the shelf for the Giants, joining Mac Williamson, who has been dealing with a quadriceps injury since March and is currently on the disabled list. Aside from Hill, who replaced Parker on Saturday, Marrero and Hernandez, other organizational left fielders include prominent minor leaguers in the newly signed Melvin Upton Jr. and Mike Morse. Upton isn’t ready yet, however, tweets Pavlovic, while Morse is rehabbing a hamstring injury. Justin Ruggiano, Drew Stubbs and Kyle Blanks represent a few more familiar minor leaguers, while Pavlovic cites Kelby Tomlinson and Orlando Calixte as possible Triple-A options who are already on the 40-man roster. If it’s not content with anyone from that group, San Francisco could venture outside to replace Parker, perhaps with free agent and longtime Giant Angel Pagan, though that’s only speculation.
Rangers Acquire Clayton Blackburn From Giants
The Rangers have acquired right-hander Clayton Blackburn from the Giants for minor league infielder Frandy De La Rosa, per announcements from both teams.
It’s no surprise that San Francisco found a taker for the 24-year-old Blackburn, who began generating interest after the Giants designated him for assignment Tuesday. Baseball America ranked Blackburn among the Giants’ 10 best prospects from 2012-15, including sixth in 2014, but his stock dropped with a disappointing 2016. In 136 1/3 innings, Blackburn logged a 4.36 ERA, 6.67 K/9 and 2.31 BB/9. That came after a far better showing in 2015, when he pitched to a 2.85 ERA – with 7.24 K/9 and 2.34 BB/9 – in 123 frames. The optionable Blackburn figures to provide starting depth for Texas, which has already sent him to Triple-A.
De La Rosa, meanwhile, has now been part of two deals since signing with the Cubs as an international free agent from the Dominican Republic in 2013 (Chicago shipped him to the Rangers for righty Spencer Patton in 2015). At the time of the first swap involving De La Rosa, Baseball America’s Vince Lara-Cinisomo noted that he has “plus speed and decent hands but lacks the consistency to play shortstop, profiling as an offensive second baseman.” The 21-year-old switch-hitter has batted .253/.317/.352 in the minors, primarily at the Single-A level.
West Notes: Dipoto, Richards, Cashner, Bush, Morse, Bradley
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com provides an interesting interview with Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto that’s well worth a full read. The topics range from the impact of Statcast to Dipoto’s seemingly insatiable appetite for trades.
Here’s more from the game’s western divisions:
- We checked in earlier tonight on Angels righty Garrett Richards, and there’s more news on that front. GM Billy Eppler says that the current concern is an ongoing lack of strength in Richards’s biceps, as Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter links). Though cervical disc issues apparently aren’t at the root — an MRI came back clean — it seems that’ll need to be resolved before Richards can return to the hill.
- The Rangers will finally get a chance to see what they have in righty Andrew Cashner. He’s slated to make his first start for the team tomorrow, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Cashner, who signed a one-year make-good deal over the winter, was set back by biceps tendinitis in camp.
- There was other good news on the injury front for the Rangers. As Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes, key reliever Matt Bush could return to action as soon as this weekend. He has seemingly responded well to a cortisone shot in his shoulder, though the club is waiting a bit longer to make sure he’s pain free before putting him back on the rubber.
- Giants outfielder Michael Morse is nearly ready to take the field at Triple-A after rehabbing his hamstring, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports on Twitter. Indeed, Morse may be prepared for MLB action in just ten days, per the report. It’s unclear as yet what San Francisco’s plans are for the veteran, but he’d clearly represent an alternative to Chris Marrero if the club decides to make a change. Though Marrero has had a productive game tonight, including his first big league homer, he has struggled out of the gates.
- The Diamondbacks are still weighing just how to use Archie Bradley, who has shown resurgent form this year, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. Bradley’s outstanding early work from the bullpen — no runs, ten strikeouts, and just two walks over 6 2/3 frames — has manager Torey Lovullo wondering how best to maximize the former top starting prospect. For now, it seems, Bradley is likely to continue working as a longman, but the skipper suggested that the young righty could begin to enter in higher-leverage spots. It’s worth noting that Bradley is now averaging 95.7 mph with his fastball after sitting just over 92 in his prior two MLB campaigns, though of course that’s probably aided in part by his move to a relief role.